Agenda Packet 9-12-18 Work Session

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14 • Church is a bedrock for older generation; it is a sanctuary and black people have power there, but not in the community. (African American) • Would like to see more faces of color. Coming to Eugene, “it’s a bit of a culture shock to be around so few people of color.” (African American) • Have always felt unsafe in Eugene, felt like the “other.” Is important to find other POC. (Asian American) Theme #7: Differences Within Communities Communities are not monolithic; there are differences within all of them. So it is with the communities from which participants in our focus groups came to us. Views on life in Eugene and toward one another was often conditioned by such things as how long participants had resided in Eugene, where they had lived before, their ethnicity, their skin color, their ages, their cultures, and how much their behavior and appearance stood out from that of the dominant majority. And yet the omnipresent, majority-dominating environment within which all must function encouraged within-group acceptance, cooperation and collaboration among most of the focus group participants. • Diversity in NA community not recognized—all are just “Redskins,” when every tribe, every clan and band is different. (Native American/Alaska Native) • Two communities here, by generation. Older generation are bedrock of black community. Younger, educated people have different experiences – classism with racism. “You are not black. You’re not from the ghetto.” (African American) • Pacific Islander cultures are different from one another, not all Hawaiian. (Pacific Islander) • No one person speaks for Latinos. Need forums instead. (Latinx) • You do not have to represent all Indians at longhouse. Each tribe is different… (Native American/Alaska Native) • My first identity doesn’t come through lens of race, but being a child of God, though I have experienced racism and recognize social injustices. (African American) • Older generation has disconnected, is self-secluded, and doesn’t go out for civic engagement (“it’s not for us”); church is safe and outside world is distrusted. (African American) Theme #8: Needs of Communities The themes we have discussed point to a body of fears, concerns and grievances that most members of the dominant majority are unlikely to know, or upon hearing about them, may be prone to be dismissive. Race in particular seems to be a difficult topic for members of Eugene’s white majority. It would be helpful if Eugeneans listened to the ways in which behavior on the part of the dominant majority (and the institutions controlled by the dominant majority) is limiting the life chances, and thus the opportunity to make contributions to our community as a whole, of all those whose voices are reflected in these ten focus groups. • I wish there was somewhere to go where people could gather – really helpful as a community, to celebrate holidays that are unique to our culture, to make connections, a place for our kids to go. (Pacific Islander) (also strongly expressed by Asian American, Latinx, LGBTQ and Trans) • Anselmo Villanueva’s “Exit Files” show many professional people of color coming to Eugene September 12, 2018, Work Session - Item 1